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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Braised Sweet & Sour Zhenjiang Vinegar Spare Ribs (浙江糖醋排骨)

Chinkiang or Zhenjiang fragrant black vinegar (镇江香醋) is a dark, slightly sweet rice vinegar with a smoky flavour. It is normally made from black glutinous rice and malt, although sometimes millet or sorghum may be used as well. This vinegar is often used in cooking the Chinese version of sweet and sour pork. The sharpness of this vinegar can be balanced with the sweetness of sugar and smoothed with saltiness. It is often used in braised dishes, in noodles, soup or as a dipping sauce for dumplings.

There are quite a few brands out there, but it is said that Gold Plum's brand of Chinkiang Fragrant Vinegar is generally considered to be the best. It had won the prestigious French Laurier d'Or de la Qualite Internationale in 1985. Chinkiang black vinegar may be substituted with balsamic vinegar.

14 comments:

Hi Veronica, yummylicious pork ribs with black vinegar. I have seen many Chinese recipes using black vinegar when cooking pork ribs. They look good. How long do you need to braise the ribs until tender?